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“You will,” he says, “but I’ve got first dibs. We have some unfinished business. We’ll see if Grandpa can take what he dishes out.”
I drop my jaw. “No, Vinnie, you’re not going to?—”
“Violate an eighty-year-old man?” He shudders. “Hell no, Savannah. I’m not a criminal, and that’s just sick. But I’ve been thinking for seventeen years what I would do if I came face-to-face with him again.”
“What could you do that’s worse than rape?”
“I could kill him,” Vinnie says, “but I’m not a killer. It’s part of the reason I got out of this family in the first place.” His demeanor hardens. “No, Savannah. I’m going to take the old man down. This family is going to topple, and I’m going to be the catalyst.”
My jaw drops. “Vinnie, you’re one man. I’m one woman. We can’t take down our entire family.”
“We can, Savannah. They all deserve to be in prison.”
“Even Dad?”
“Especially Dad. He conspired to sell you off to the McAllisters.” He looks away, disgust on his face. “I have no proof, but I bet he’s taken some lives over the years.”
“What about Mom?”
“Mama’s innocent in all of this. Just like you are. Just like Mikey was.” He swallows. “Mikey paid the price, and I’m going to make sure he didn’t die in vain.”
“How are you going to do it?”
He taps at his temple. “I’ve got a plan in the works. It’s been percolating for years. And now that I’m back, it’s time to put it into action.”
“Hey, anything you need on my end, you got it,” Leif says.
“Thanks, man.” He takes Leif’s hand and shakes it. “And thanks so much for everything you’ve done for Savannah. But this is something I have to do myself.”
“You’re going to do it without me?” I ask.
“Savannah, I love you. You are smart and wonderful and I would love your help, but I don’t want to drag you any further into this.”
I let out a scoffing laugh. “I’m already in it. As soon as they find me, they’re going to drag me back to Miles McAllister. So yeah, I’m as much in this as you are, Vin.”
He pauses and cocks his head. “Tell you what. You and I will go back to the safe house, and we’ll talk. We’ll figure out a way.”
“Falcon’s going to hate this,” Leif says.
“I love Falcon,” I tell him. “And I know he loves me. I know he wants to protect me from everything, just like I want to protect him. But I couldn’t protect him from the cops today, and I should have. I should have told him to leave the safe house and go to his parole appointment. So that’s on me. But I can tell you one other thing.” I cross my arms. “Falcon Bellamy doesn’t own me, and if my family is going down, I want a hand in it.”
Leif smiles at me then. “You remind me so much of Kelly. You’re a handful, just like she was. And is. I wouldn’t trade her for all the gold in the world. And I’m pretty sure Falcon feels the same way about you.”
“And I feel the same way about him. Right now, I need to trust that his lawyers are going to take care of him, because I have to help my brother.”
“All right.”
“Falcon’s satellite phone is at the safe house,” I say. “I want you to call me there as soon as you have news about him.”
“Absolutely, I will,” Leif says.
We walk to the kitchen into the front room just as the truck is driving up.
Leif signals the driver over. “The supplies I ordered are here. You two get ready to go, and I’ll get this all loaded.”
I regard Leif, his light blond hair and blue eyes. Such a contrast to my brother, with his dark hair and dark eyes.
But the look in both of their gazes is unmistakable.
